There Are Worse People I Could Have Shared With
by AgentStormOO7
Summary: On a camping trip with the other nations, Prussia and Austria are forced to share a tent, much to their mutual dismay. However, they might just find that spending the night in each other's company isn't so bad. PruAus.


AN: This fic is for genderfluid-aristocrat, for the 2014 PruAus secret santa!

I read so much angst that I was surprised by the amount of fluff here... please rate and review! Even if you just review with one word, I love to know that people are reading what I write!

On tumblr I am prussia-is-my-bitch for strictly hetalia, but for hetalia as well as supernatural, free, and other fandoms, I am fangirlranting!

I hope you enjoy the story!

* * *

"The awesome me refuses to sleep next to that prissy aristocrat!"

Ludwig sighed and massaged his temples. "Gilbert, there's no-one else to pair you up with, and we aren't having co-ed tents. You have no choice." Ludwig couldn't for the life of him remember why he had invited Gilbert to come along on his and his friends' 'bonding adventure' at the camping grounds in middle of the forest. He had made the mistake of discussing it with Feliciano while his brother was in the vicinity. Feeling guilty, Ludwig had offered that he could come with them if he wanted to, though he probably wouldn't like it. Of course, when he raised the idea, Gilbert had sprung to his feet declaring his oath to protect his brother and friends from the savage beasts of the wild with his "sharp wit" and "deadly" muscles. Dumkopf.

Elizaveta and Roderich were both accompanying them on the trip, which, when mixed with a restless and rambunctious Gilbert, was a recipe for disaster. Especially now that it seemed Gilbert would be sharing a tent with Roderich.

"I don't see why I can't share a tent with _you_, bruder." Gilbert folded his arms over his chest.

Ludwig frowned. "I promised Feliciano that he could share with me. I already tried asking him if I could switch, you can guess what happened. And, of course, when he starts crying, Romano's going to try to kill me. Again. Do you really want to deal with two emotional Italians for the rest of this trip?"

Gilbert winced at the thought. "Fine." Spinning round on his heel, he pointed an accusing finger at the equally irked Austrian. "But we're sleeping on opposite sides of the tent. I am too awesome to be infected by your prissiness."

"It's called _class,_" said Austria, "And it's not contagious. Heaven knows, if it were, you might even be slightly less of a barbarian as you are now."

"At least I'm not a stuck-up, boring, music-worshipping little aristocrat like-"

"_Enough,_ Gilbert." Ludwig boomed. "It's almost 3 in the morning, and some of us would like to get some sleep. Now, both of you, be quiet, stop acting so childish, and _try and get along until morning._" With that, Ludwig stomped away and entered his and Feli's tent, zipping it firmly behind him.

With a grunt from Gilbert, and a sigh from Roderich, the two remaining nations climbed into their own tent, and settled themselves their sleeping bags. They each positioned themselves as far away from the other as they could, to the point that they were squished uncomfortably against the opposite-facing walls of the tent, stubbornly facing away from each other. Not that this made much of a difference, as it was, as the tent was barely 6 feet wide.

Roderich closed his eyes, and focused on the gentle sound of crickets chirping from elsewhere in the forest. His breathing began to slow to a steady rhythm, and he was just about to fall asleep when-

"Do you think there Bigfoots in this forest?"

Roderich gritted his teeth. "Shut up, I'm trying to sleep."

"I think there are." Gilbert continued, as if his tent-mate hadn't spoken. "I once saw a documentary that said that forests like these are the perfect habitat for monsters like Bigfoot. And also that Bigfoot likes eating Austrians."

"Bigfoot isn't real. And the documentary definitely didn't say that he only eats Austrians."

"I didn't say he _only_ eats Austrians, it's just that they're his favorite. Probably because they're too prissy to put up a fight."

"Ha ha." Roderich laughed dryly. "Now be quiet and go to sleep."

"I mean, what are the Austrians going to do?" Gilbert continued, much to Roderich's chagrin. "Hit Bigfoot with a piano? 'Cuz Bigfoot's, like, two thousand feet tall. That would wouldn't even hurt him."

"Sometimes I wonder how you and your brother are even related," mused Roderich.

Gilbert rolled onto his back. "I know, right? I'm, like, pure awesomeness and fun, but mein bruder is all serious and boring. It's like he has a permanent stick up his arschloch."

"Not what I meant."

Gilbert grunted, dismissively. "He never comes out of his office these days! It's all 'politics this' and 'paperwork that', and he never even goes out drinking with me like we used to! Neither do Francis and Antonio anymore these days. Everyone's all too busy working to have any fun."

"That's because, unlike you, some people actually _still have a country _to run, so they can'twaste all their time parading around like a drunken fool. Maybe if you still had your country, you would understand. Now shut up, try being mature for once in your life, and _go to sleep_."

To Roderich's surprise, Gilbert met his request. Austria was wary of the silence, almost expecting Gilbert to jump up out of the dark and scream in his ear in an attempt to scare him. But the prank never came. In its place, there was just silence, and then…. A sniffle?

"Gilbert? Are you crying?" Concerned gnawed at Roderich's stomach.

"No."

"Yes, you are,"

Another sniffle, louder this time, as Gilbert clumsily wiped his eyes on his wrist. "Just leave me alone."

"Was it something I said?" Roderich was met with silence. "Is it that you don't have a country anymore?"

A badly stifled sob sounded through the tent.

Roderich could feel the guilt starting to pool in his abdomen. "You know, I didn't really mean it. You're still important, you do…. Things."

"Things?" Prussia chuckled, dryly, his voice raw with tears. "Like what? Like running around and getting drunk, like a fool? Drop the act, Roddy, we both know I'm basically useless nowadays. My country's dissolved, my brother doesn't need me anymore, and all I do is drink myself into a good mood and get into people's ways." His breath hitched. "I don't even know why I'm still alive."

Austria gasped, stunned by the appearance of this new side of Gilbert, a side he'd never imagined existed. _So this is what went through the ex-nation's head, guarded behind his exaggerated bravado and ceramic smiles. So, maybe he wasn't much of an idiot, after all?_

"Gilbert, I-" Roderich choked on his words. "You aren't useless. You- you're East Germany now, aren't you? That's something! Germany wouldn't be complete without both the east and the west. See? You're just as important as your brother."

"You say that, but, I'm _not_ East Germany, really. I'm Prussia, the once-great Nation who now only exists in the history books. Yeah, technically I represent the East Germany now, but I don't actually _do_ anything. Ludwig does all the work, and has all the nationly duties. I don't really represent anything, anymore. Nothing makes sense- I'm immortal but not a country. Does that even make me anything?" Gilbert inhaled, deeply. "I should have died with my country, back in 1949."

"But, you didn't." Roderich sought to look into Gilbert's eyes, as well as he could in the dark. "You're still here, alive, breathing, sharing a tent with me. If you were really meant to have died, you would have, but the fact that you didn't shows that you're purpose isn't over! The Teutonic order is still around today, and so is East Germany, and though you don't do as much work as your brother, it doesn't stop you from feeling your people, from being affected by your land, and from involving yourself in the politics of your country. Don't lie to me and say you're not keeping up with current affairs, because I know you, and I know that, despite your charade of being an ignorant fool, you really do care about the country you rule."

Gilbert's breath hitched in response.

"And as for your brother not needing you anymore… Was it not you who was able to pull Ludwig from the brink of depression after the proposal fiasco with Feliciano that Valentine's Day? Was it not you who raised him, and taught him to be the great leader he is today? Was it not you who was able to bring Germany back to his feet after the devastation and bankruptcy in the aftermath of World War II?" Roderich's voice was raising progressively throughout his speech. "Face it, Gilbert. Your brother still needs you. Your country still needs you, your friends still need you, and I-" Roderich paused. "I need you."

As Roderich finished his confession, the tent echoed with silence. And then, cautiously, Gilbert's hand slipped out of his sleeping bag and found Roderich's, intertwining their fingers and connecting the two nations.

"Roddy?"

"Yes?"

"You know… there are worse people I could have shared a tent with."

"… Yeah. Yeah, there are."

* * *

"SSShhhhhh. You're gonna wake them up!"

"No, look how deep they're sleeping. Kiku, get the camera!"

Ludwig was rudely awoken to squeals and whispers sounding from outside. Rubbing his sleep-heavy eyes, he climbed out to see a crowd of giggling nations surrounding Gilbert and Roderich's tent.

Confused, he pushed his way to the front to see what the spectacle was. The sight that lay before him caused his eyes to widen and his jaw to slack.

There, curled up and… spooning, in the center of the tent were Prussia and Austria. Gilbert lay pressed up against Roderich's back, with their legs tangled together and his face nuzzling into Roderich's neck. Gilbert's arms were wrapped around the smaller nation, their hands twined together tightly and held against Roderich's chest. Both wore content smiles on their sleeping faces.

As the image in front of him sunk in, Ludwig found a soft smile finding its way onto his own face. He had been growing increasingly worried for his rambunctious older brother as of late, who's usually optimistic attitude had been sobering alarmingly as he fell into a silent depression.

But, seeing what he did today, and knowing that there was someone who cared enough about him, and would look after his brother the same way he did, Ludwig could feel his worries lighten, and his concerns release the tight grip they had on his stomach. Yes. Gilbert would be just fine.


End file.
